Author's Note
This was written for the Quills and Sofas prompt “Sing a song about life: transitions”, and I just had to write this story I’ve had in the conceptual phase for a while because I didn’t learn my lesson with Not Who I Thought I’d Be, nor should I, really.
It didn’t place in the top three, but I found it strong enough to upload on here as a standalone.
It wasn’t originally a magazine clipping, but there were some suggestions to add in an interviewer so it felt more realistic, which I eventually decided on. Also, making it a magazine clipping gave it this weird disconnected feel, which I really loved, because it felt like listening to a radio, or well, reading a magazine.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Constructive criticism is allowed and encouraged.
Something About a Violet
The following is a recorded excerpt from an interview with Burnt Violets’ drummer, Reinn, as transcribed by the drumming magazine Drums and Drummers.
“Reinn, I do have one final question, you’ve talked about your style and whatnot, but what was the whole transition like?”
“Oh, you want to know about that? Well, a transition in life can sometimes be rather miniscule in the general idea of things. It may be a shock at first, but sometimes it’s as simple as moving to another place. However, sometimes the transition is as intense as losing somepony you loved.
“Though I presume you’re asking about me being transgender because I swear, every single interviewer asks that question.
“You know I’ve been drumming for a while in Burnt Violets, and trust me when I say that I found out I was trans long before I joined that band a good… 5 or so years ago, I think?
“However, I figure I need to set the record straight for the umpteenth time, of course, because as mentioned, every single interviewer asks that question. I don’t hate answering it, but I’m sure you’d get tired of telling a story so many times. I really only like talking about my cutie mark story that much, that was a fun one.
“Somehow I get the feeling that’s not it— what was I talking about?”
“Ma’am, I think you were talking about the transition.”
“Right, right, anyways...
“From when I was a filly, or I guess, ‘colt’ if you want the semantics, no matter how inaccurate they are, I’d always loved music. Of course, like any good young pony, I changed my interest a few times, but I eventually took a shine to performing in the music business.
“After I made a fool of myself at a talent show, I decided that I needed to practice my drums more. I did exactly that, and I eventually got to a place where I could perform a decent beat.
“I figured that learning my drums would make me happy, because I constantly had problems with all that. I had self-image issues, and nothing I did ever felt right. I always felt like I was trying to live somepony else’s life.
“My parents would try and get me to like anything coltlike, as a parent would do to any young pony’s birth sex for whatever reason, and I kinda found most of it very stupid. I also found the entire idea of anything coltlike to be very stupid in the first place, like, why are colts expected to like that stuff? Some of them don’t really like watching Buckball games.
“But the point still stands, I felt out of place whatever I did.
“I honestly almost quit drums because they weren’t filling the void I felt.”
“Would you care to elaborate any more, Ma’am?”
“I don’t think you know what you got yourself into, but gladly!
“I felt like my entire livelihood had been stripped away and left this burning hole in my heart and this burning memory in my head. All I had was this faint vision of a faraway time where life was actually pretty decent, a time I couldn’t remember living nor could see in the future.
“In all seriousness, I felt like I was wilted, and no amount of water would pull me back up again. A wilted violet, perhaps.
“...Too much? Probably shouldn’t’ve listened to that Nu-Metal record earlier…”
“So, what made you realize this transition?”
“There was an album that I was a really big fan of, I still am a fan, in fact.
“It was by a Hardcore Punk band, or the album was Hardcore Punk, or something like that, but the entire album was basically just a lookback on the lead singer’s life. It touched on this concept that I knew very little about up until that moment, something known as transgender.”
“How did you not know was being transgender was?”
“I mean, it’s nothing much in the grand scheme of things, but I was a dumb young horse and I really didn’t recognize anything like that. I never felt motivated to go out of my way and learn about it, and when I’m not motivated, I’m really not motivated.
“Anyways! Back to the album, it was one particular song, really, it was just some mare screaming into a mic about how she always wanted to be with the boys because she desperately wanted to fit in. Then she realized she wasn’t a boy and it made sense.
“So yeah, I kind of thought that the song very much described me. So, I decided that I should probably get motivation for that. It helped that the song kind of rules and is a workout and a half to drum to.
“So, I did more research into the transgender thing, and it opened up a new world of possiblity. I couldn’t believe that extreme discomfort in what I’d be assigned had a diagnosis, figured out about the whole magical restructuring thing, getting rid of all of the unwanted bits and things like that by using magic to edit the cells or something— look, I’m not a unicorn, I don’t really care about unicorn magic.
“They really only tended to do that when you’re a little older than the age I was then. Like, 12, 13? Something like that. Just in case you ended up comfortable in your old body, though certain magic users could change it back pretty easily.
“I think I really liked the idea and started using the name Reinn. I mean, it alleviated my dysphoria a bit, which was nice.
“Yeah, it alleviated my dysphoria a bit… just the presence of a possibility of another path, I guess.
“I’ve gotten the whole magical transitioning done now, not really that painful, just took a while.”
“Thank you, Reinn. Are there any concluding remarks you’d like to make for the readers who are reading this later?”
“Honestly, there’s not really a point to this, now that I think about it. I just wanted to set the record straight for all the ponies who ask about the entire ordeal, as it’s not like I withhold that information from anypony. The information that I’m a transmare, at least. Of course, I’m not going to give them my address… but there’s some things I’m open about, that being one of them.
“I guess the best I can give is that transitions don’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things. Regardless of what happens, any transition won’t greatly affect the core of your person. Positive ones at least.
“Sometimes you emerge from it a stronger pony, other times you’re exactly the same, and there’s nothing really wrong with that, is there?
“A transition means going from one point to another, by various means, and it happens often in life. At the end of the day, did my transition affect the core me? Not really, I’m the same pony I was then, with a new name, and maybe less scared to show my feminine side, but still, the core is the same.
“Transitions are something you get through, and you come out stronger, really. That’s the long and short of it. Mine wasn’t really any different. Thank you for having me.”
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